Is Sencha Cmd necessary to create a custom theme in Ext 4.2?

[theCowboy]

I am trying to migrate a themed app using ExtJs 4.1.3 to ExtJs 4.2. I am not using Sencha cmd at all previously, so now I am wondering if it is necessary to successfully theme in 4.2.

The release notes seem to imply that we don't have to use Sencha Cmd:
http://docs.sencha.com/ext-js/4-2/ex...ase-notes.html

All packages exist in the "./packages" folder off the Ext JS root. Packages contain source for building into your applications using Sencha Cmd 3.1+ as well as pre-built versions of CSS and JS files. These are used in "dev mode" or as part of your application if you are not using Sencha Cmd. The pre-built content for each package is in its "./build" folder.

but the Theming guide seems to imply that we do:

In Ext 4.1 theming was done quite differently. Typically all the SASS variables would be placed in one "all.scss" file, and at the end of the file the base theme's "all.scss" file would be imported. The best starting point for migrating an existing theme is to place all the old SASS variables in the theme's "sass/etc/all.scss" file. Any SASS rules that the legacy theme had should be placed in "sass/src/Component.scss". Then try to build the theme or an app that uses the theme as described above. Eventually you may want to move the variables and rules into the files that correspond to the Components being styled.

And under "Requirements"

Tobuild a theme in Ext JS 4.2 you will need to have Sencha Cmd 3.1 or higherinstalled on your computer.

My app does not follow the structure that is needed to be able to run "sencha app build", so I also checked the section "Managing Themes Manually" http://docs.sencha.com/ext-js/4-2/#!.../command_theme and the section "Extracting images for a single theme" which seems to imply that I can just use "compass compile" to compile a custom theme.

So from that information, I have two questions:

1. Is Sencha Cmd necessary to theme Ext 4.2 if I am not interested in image slicing for legacy browsers?


2. Can I just use Sencha Cmd once to generate the right folder structure, but afterwards, use "compass compile" to generate the css for my custom theme?

[mitchellsimoens]

If you're not using Cmd then you just have to generate the css (with or without sass) yourself.

[theCowboy]

Thanks,

Was wondering if you could clarify one more thing though. From the docs, I'm gathering that sencha Cmd commands pulls the right SASS into one (taking into account the inheritance structure, etc.)

"When using themes as described above, the SASS from your theme and from your application as well as from required packages (see Sencha Cmd Packages) is combined in an "app-all.scss" file that is then compiled by Compass." <http://docs.sencha.com/ext-js/4-2/#!/guide/theming>

It seems like we technically can compile manually the .scss file that we want, but we will have to maintain the .scss file manually. So we are not fully maximizing the new file/inheritance structure. Did I understand it correctly?

[mitchellsimoens]

Yes, that is correct.

[theCowboy]

Thank you for your reply! I understand it now.